Household staff schedule: planning shifts, handling changes and tracking hours
With one nanny, the schedule can live in a chat. Add a housekeeper, a driver and a second home, and the questions start: who is on this Saturday, who covers when someone is away, and how many hours did each person actually work?
1. Write down the regular week first
For each person: days, start and finish, where they work, and days off. Include travel between homes if it is part of the job. Agree it in writing.
2. Publish the schedule in advance
For example, on the same day each week. People organise their lives around their shifts. Tell them about changes as early as you can, and follow the notice you have agreed and any local requirements.
3. Ask for confirmation shift by shift
Someone may be fine with Monday and not with Saturday. If they decline a shift, ask why and find cover.
4. Decide in advance who can cover what
Not everything can be covered the same way. Collecting the children needs someone they know, whom you have authorised and the school or nursery has been told about. Driving needs someone allowed to drive that car and insured for it. Write it down before you need it.
5. Record changes, do not leave them in a chat
When a shift moves, keep the old time, the new time and who agreed.
6. Note start and finish on the day
Planned and recorded, side by side. That shows differences between planned and recorded time before payday. If a time was not recorded, clarify it promptly with the other person. Keep the proposed correction and its confirmation in the records. See how to pay a nanny or housekeeper.
7. Two lines at the end of a shift
What was done, and what is left for the next person. A short report saves calls, especially in homes with several shifts. See our handover checklist.
This guide is about organising daily work. Working hours, rest breaks, overtime and night work for household staff depend on your country: check the local rules or ask an adviser before you fix the schedule.
In Domiq, you assign shifts to invited staff by date and time. The person confirms or declines each shift, giving a reason if they decline, and you see the answer for each one. You can pick and assign a replacement for a declined shift. Staff can ask to move a shift, and if you change a shift's time, they are asked to confirm it. Start and finish are recorded on the phone, and a short report with photos can be added at the end. You see planned and recorded time side by side. A shift left open is marked as needing confirmation. You can propose a correction to the recorded hours; it takes effect after the staff member confirms it. Shift scheduling and time records are on the free plan for up to 2 staff and 1 property; pay calculation from the shifts is available on the Home plan and above.